Growing up in Singapore, Linda Sim always wanted to join the army or the police force. She got disappointed upon learning that women, especially those with her size, were mostly doing desk jobs. Only standing 4-11 and a little over 100 pounds, she took up taekwondo for self-defense.
“I have always been petite and small-framed. If I can run and kick, I don’t have to carry a weapon to defend myself. I’m the weapon.”
Her dream of an action-packed life now became a life of contemplation as she answered a calling from God. At 24-years old, she joined the Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood. It took her mother 10 years to reconcile with Sister Linda’s decision as she thought she would be losing a daughter.
“I went to all the parties and did all the sports, but there was an emptiness in me. I kept feeling this stirring that God was calling me and I only found peace after I joined the sisters.”
Her missionary work sent her to several countries, punctuated with a 17-year convent work in England and a 3-year stay in Zimbabwe as a hospital administrator. Still, she continued to practice her sport.
In the Assisi Hospice that treats children with cancer and which her congregation founded, the Singapore Taekwondo Federation taught the sport to these stricken children. The STF asked her to help teach the children and the next thing Sis. Linda knew, she was attending training sessions done by the federation on how to coach the children.
She realized that she wasn’t too old to move up to competitive level. “After I saw gray-haired ladies compete, I thought I wanted to train to represent Singapore as I’m very proud to be Singaporean.”
Her work with the FMDM sisters keeps her busy but Sis. Linda still finds time to train thrice weekly. Since her first competition in 2011, she had participated in more than 25 international tournaments and collected an impressive 30 medals, including a bronze in the 2018 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships.
Now at 67, the 5th dan black belt says that age is not an issue for her, despite the wear and tear as well as the aches and pains from both her religious duties and TKD practices and tournaments.
She doesn’t find any conflict between religious life and martial arts, citing Jesus as her first love and taekwondo as her lifelong passion. “Poomsae is an art form and to me, it’s like a dance. It is not violent and World Taekwondo’s motto is ‘Peace is more precious than triumph’. Taekwondo enables me to reach out to people in a non-church language.”
April of this year, Sis. Linda became the first Singaporean to win a gold medal in the World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in South Korea. She outclassed six other jins in the women’s 65-up category. To prepare for this tournament, she trained up to five times a week for nine months.
Because she loves getting close to children, she now teaches the sport to them on Saturdays. One parent said, “Sis. Linda is a really good role model for young children. We can see her passion and commitment to taekwondo and the work she does as a Catholic nun.”
With a kick and a prayer, let’s all take comfort in the thought that her double roundhouse is loaded with blessings.